Magnetic Induction Tomography: Hardware Development for Industrial and Medical Applications

Abstract

In this thesis the development and application of compact low cost MIT instruments are investigated, specifically for the purpose of integration into systems for in situ monitoring of metallic components and development of soft robotic sensors. Two MIT systems are presented, a scalar amplitude only instrument, and a vector phase-magnitude instrument, both designed to be relatively low cost and compact. A performance evaluation is given for both instruments, in terms of frame data SNR and quality of reconstructed
images. An evaluation of potential applications in the metallurgical analysis of components is discussed, emphasising the need for complex frame data, where both phase and magnitude are captured. Attention is then directed toward applications in the development of soft robotic sensors, where two different novel electromagnetic skins are described. A membrane using a planar array and a matrix of conducting elements is described, capable of accurately detecting the position of tactile interactions and applied force. To mitigate the uneven distribution of sensitivity across the skin surface, a hybrid membrane is investigated, combining both a circular EIT array and a planar MIT array. A further development in soft robotic sensor applications is also presented, where an array of inductors is used to detect shape deformation, using similar inverse
methods.

Date of Award	26 Jun 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Manuchehr Soleimani (Supervisor) & Biagio Forte (Supervisor)